Branches whipped past my face, drawing blood. The hollow buzz in my head competed with my own labored breathing—I barely heard the wind whistling in my ears.

One foot in front of the other, because we had to get out. The shadow was gone, for now, but now there were guards coming, too many for us, not here, not now.

My feet hit hard stone with a jolt. Was the ground giving way? Or the forest, I mean, the forest giving way to stone?

Andrin tugged my arm but I pulled him along anyway. He needed to stay with me, to keep going, I needed him to.

I stumbled on a root. A spiderweb of them poked up from the dirt, washed away by the rain.

The rain, it was pattering a ways off, how could it be there and not here? I didn't know, I just knew we needed to move, not so much because the guards would catch up, but the shadow.

My palm scraped another rock. Did I catch myself again? I sucked in a breath through dry lungs. That water, trickling down the hill beside me, it—the hill?

A boulder loomed ahead and I dodged it.

I had to get away.

The stones underfoot grew slick and I wiped the sweat out of my eyes.

We can't go back.

My foot caught on a branch.

"Watch out!"

I missed a step and stumbled, smashing my shin into another rock and sprawling headfirst into a riverbed of stones. The rocks hit like hammers and the icy waters rushed to wash away warm blood. I clamped down hard to hold back a string of curses.

Lylisia splashed into the water beside me, sending up another spray. "Sedris! Sed are you alright, what were you even doing!"

I groaned through clenched teeth and held up my battered hands to inspect. "I thought you were behind me!"

Koren came around the corner—or really, down the incline—dragging a still-limp Andrin, whose half-lidded eyes put my heart in my mouth again.

Koren dropped unsteadily onto one knee and lowered Andrin to the ground. I rushed to catch him, heedless of the raw skin on my palms.

"Can you feel him? Is he still here?"

"He's here," Koren said through ragged gasps. He coughed and clutched his side.

Mine were aching too. "We need to wake him up, we have to get moving. What happened to him?"

Koren opened his mouth but Lylisia drowned out any response. "...no, no no no, this is not—eugh!" She groaned and hurled a fistful of stones into the water.

"Lill what...!"

Lylisia stood on the bank of a pond and held the Torch high. My eye followed the silhouette of a massive cliff, all the way from one end of the pond to the other that sank back into the darkness. The gentle slope of a ravine led back to where we tumbled into the clearing, the trickling stream having carved it from the rock.

"Guys we... we have to go back!" I glanced down at Andrin and bit my already split lip. "I led us here, why didn't somebody stop me, let's go around!"

"Sed stop, stop! We can't go back, the path led us straight here. I need to think."

"...no, no..." Lylisia was still muttering, storming around the edge of the pond. Her light bobbed angrily around the edge.

I took a few hasty steps toward the ravine entrance, peering into the darkness, then backtracked straight to the pond. I knew it wasn't possible, but I had a nagging fear my heavy breathing would give away our position to the Corvel. "There must be a way out, why would the path lead here unless it goes through? Why?"

Koren didn't bother giving an answer. He was bent over Andrin, panting, but checking a pulse with steady hands.

Why isn't Andrin recovering?

"We'll have to make a stand here." Lylisia set her stance in the middle of the path, already firming up her footing for a fight.

"You don't know that Lyl. There could still be a path through." I didn't know if there was, but we needed some way out.

Koren said something to Lylisia while I squinted into the blackness.

The cliff towering over us hung out over the pond, a half-dome closing the whole area in. There would be no scaling it, even for me. I peered into the darkness, looking for something, anything. With the few scraps of magic I had left, I could make out the silhouette of a ledge at the far edge of the pond. There was a shelf straight across carved into the rock—maybe, just maybe...

The eerie green light gave a sudden burst of flame and I jerked around, already feeling the rush from Lylisia through our Bond. My grasp on the currents was still rubbed raw, but it wasn't hard to feel the guards getting closer than before. The Corvel would find us soon.

"Andrin listen to me, you need to wake up now." Koren gave the Animaré a quick shake, but otherwise didn't break his level tone. He glanced ahead and pressed his lips together. Andrin's eyes were fluttering and he began to stir, but it wasn't enough to get him moving himself.

I rushed over after a jerk of Koren's head and shakily helped lay the Baldük in the tall grass beside the riverbank.

"Sed, find us a way out, I need you to—oof—search every corner back there. We have to get out. Lyl, get back while I—"

"I'm not 'getting back' anywhere," Lylisia snarled. Her clenched fists were shaking. "I'm standing right here and fighting."

"This isn't the time Lyl! Can't you see I'm trying to keep you—"

"—safe? While you're throwing yourself headfirst at three of them, who's going to keep a fourth from knifing you in the back?"

"C'mon Lill we can find a way out." I took a half step toward the pond, already scanning the far side. "Koren can hold them. Somebody has to get us out of here."

"We're wasting time here, just go with Sedris and keep an eye on Andrin already, he took that... thing... harder than I did."

Lylisia got right in Koren's face. "I won't let them lay one finger on Andrin, but I'm doing it—Sed, get off me—I'm doing from right here beside you."

"Lyl." I finally clapped a hand across her mouth. There was murder in her eyes for a second, but then they went wide. While Koren and Lylisia were arguing, the Corvel found the trail. The crunch of boots on the stony path down the ravine was unmistakable, with or without Animaré hearing.

Koren glared at both of us and crept back to the main path. Lylisia mirrored him step for step but he kept quiet.

We all held our breath.

The steps were getting louder, any second they would spill into the clearing. I crouched low in the grass.

We waited.

Crunch crunch crunch crunch.

They stopped. Koren and Lylisia looked at each other.

What's going on?

A muffled conversation floated down the path, the guards clearly arguing about something. I couldn't make out the words.

Nobody moved.

Suddenly Andrin's eyes opened and he gasped—possibly the loudest sound I had ever heard in my life. I clapped a hand to his mouth, but not before the guards' conversation stopped short. Leaning over Andrin, I held a finger to my lips and tried to relax my grip. His eyes stayed wide but he nodded and lifted his head just slightly to see what was going on. It didn't matter much, since the clearing was left in darkness without the Torch.

Slowly, a single pair of footsteps made their way toward us, the flickering light of a torch leading the way. The light crept into the clearing inch by inch, not quite reaching behind the brush hiding Koren and Lylisia and only just grasping at the tall grass where I crouched.

Each step was heavy, each one like a drum on my heart, beating a rhythm of dread deep into my bones.

The light marched around the corner and a cold fist closed around my throat.

A black gloved hand gripped the torch, illuminating a figure that could have melted right from the shadows grasping at its heels. The hulking figure stood taller than any man I'd ever seen and was heavily armored, head to toe, the torchlight leaping off the gleaming black metal. It wore no helmet, but instead a mask set back deep beneath a dark cowl. Leering features were etched into the mask in white chalk—scratched out eyes and a wide grin jumped out from what was otherwise a walking silhouette.

Ska'al. The word was bitter in my dry mouth.

The armored figure stopped short of the entrance, chalk features fixed straight ahead. I shrunk even lower, hoping the tall grass would shield me from the chalk's blank stare.

The Ska'al moved so fast I almost missed it. A flick of the wrist and suddenly the torch was sailing through the air, right at Andrin and me.

I didn't have time to think, and inwardly threw up every prayer I had. My Naem-shul leapt to life in my hand just in time to bat the torch away, snapping out of existence just as fast as it appeared. Sparks rained on my head, and the burning missile landed in the dirt, blazing angrily.

It obviously saw that.

On shaky legs I rose slowly from the grass, drawing long, slow breaths, pooling magic at my fingertips. I had never imagined three on one would feel like a fair fight, but meeting those dead, wide, chalk eyes, I couldn't help but wonder if we really had the upper hand.

The mask didn't move when I rose, but held my gaze before finally shifting. The cowl twisted left, then right—like it could smell Koren like a coiled spring on one side, like it could taste Lylisia draw her knife on the other.

It can't know...

I didn't have time to finish the thought. Before I knew it, the Ska'al had launched itself forward at a run, right toward me, a lumbering tower of black metal bearing down quicker than I thought it ever could.

Get it away from Andrin, get away—move!

The warrior drew a giant broadsword and swung, a huge arc that thundered down behind me. The mangled grass hadn't hit the ground before he was swinging toward me again, the monster weapon whistling through the air. Without Animaré reactions I'd have been downed by the blinding speed of the second strike. I managed to get my shield up to absorb the blow and immediately almost crumpled from the impact.

Lylisia's hammer flashed through the air and the Ska'al leapt back, giving me a second to catch my breath.

My Naem-shul shield should've punched the Ska'al's blade right back, but instead, I took the full impact of the blow. My shield arm felt weak too, like something was leeched out of it.

I saw Lylisia find out the same thing when she swung again. The Ska'al's blade glittered red ruby as it batted away Lylisia's warhammer effortlessly. She went stumbling off to the side and Koren stepped up to take her place.

He dodged two more vicious swipes before landing a glancing hit on the warrior's shoulder.

The Ska'al didn't even flinch.

Koren deflected another strike, and another, taking one step back, then two, then finally planting his heel and throwing up a shield to block a two-handed downward strike from the massive sword. His back leg buckled.

I charged in from the side, hoping to slide my blade through a chink in our enemy's armor. He brought his blade around in time to block mine, but not Lylisia's. She swung her hammer full force and it connected.

A grinding screech erupted from the Ska'al's armor and sparks went flying. He staggered straight toward me and jabbed, one metal fist catching me in the ribs.

My vision darkened and I went down. Another ring of metal, this time followed by a grunt from Koren.

"Sed move!"

I rolled instinctively and got a blinding pain in my thigh instead of my gut, the Ska'al's kick still catching me.

The glinting red broadsword was the problem—we could barely defend ourselves, let alone attack. What even is it? The blade is so dark, and how does it glitter like that? I watched in a daze as Lylisia, then Koren, dodged the deadly red arc. He was limping badly—her swings were weaker and wilder.

And then the Ska'al realized his fatal mistake—Animaré come in pairs, and he'd only seen three.

A huge, gleaming blade, almost big enough to match the glittering red one, erupted from the hulking warrior's chest in a burst of light and blood. Metal shrieked against Naem-shul metal and drowned Andrin's cry of exertion.

He ripped out the shining blade with another deafening screech and dropped it, staggering back a pace.

My mouth was wide open.

I was still half reeling from the bruises forming on my ribs and leg, still hoping the blood on my clothes was mine and not the Ska'al's, the blank stare of his mask boring into the forest, his mighty blade fallen at his feet.

"No!" The cry ripped from my throat too late, mingling with two others.

The Ska'al hunched over, then whipped around with a monster backhand. A stunned Andrin crumpled, and in an instant the injured Ska'al leapt for the killing blow.

Koren was already sprinting, but he would be too late. I was running too, and then something flashed by my head, the Ska'al landed on Andrin, and everyone went still.

Lylisia's knife was buried up to the hilt in the Ska'al's neck, the warrior lying facedown on the ground beside the other downed Baldük.

"Andrin! Andrin talk to me!" Koren collapsed next to his Animaré.

My head swiveled slowly to Lylisia, who was frozen with wide eyes, hammer still clenched tightly in her fist. Her other hand was shaking, still held out where it released the deadly dagger. Our eyes met and she finally let go of her hammer. We were both by Andrin's side in a flash.

"A-Andrin, oh please be okay, we t-tried to s-save you!" Lylisia's breaths were coming in sobs now.

I blinked back tears too and gave Koren a little shake. "Is he okay?"

Koren gave me a jerky nod. He was barely holding it together.

"He's okay Lyl, he's okay, we're all okay." I held her tightly and swallowed hard. "If we can move him, we need to, Koren."

Another nod.

"I'm sorry." It was all I could get out. A monster lay dead beside me, gushing blood onto the grass. Andrin almost died. We all almost died. "We're getting to that ledge, now." My voice broke, but I pulled Lylisia up with me anyway.

She wiped her eyes angrily and nodded.

We half-dragged Andrin and ourselves around the pond as far as we could, trying to ignore the shouts of Corvel in the distance. We were found out, we all knew it.

One freezing dip later and we were on the ledge. I barely remembered scooping up the Torch for light, didn't even know how Andrin swam the distance to the ledge. But we made it, dragging our broken bodies across the dry rocks, snuffing out the Torch when more deathly yellow lights appeared at the ravine mouth, pressing our backs to the cool cave walls.

There were so many torches, so many Corvel spilling into the clearing. The Ska'al's torch still raged against the dusty shore; his body still bled in the grass.

As if he willed it into existence, Koren pulled us deeper into a crevice, silently, a firm grip under Andrin's shaking shoulders.

"It... this leads us out?" It was unmistakable—a light breeze filtered through the back of the crevice. I couldn't believe it.

My sigh of relief almost masked the telltale whistle of a firespitter sailing through the air. Koren shoved me forward into the dark passageway not a moment too soon, just as the metal ball bounced off the cave wall, showering the ledge with sparks. The Corvel's firespitters were aptly nicknamed—the ball ignited and was already lighting up the ledge bright as day, showering it in red-hot embers.

"There!"

"I see blood!"

Koren swore and led the way into the cave, carrying pulling Andrin with him. We had to squeeze through the pitch black, brushing off cobwebs, racing against the clanking metal and hissing flame behind us.

"Bring it down Lyl, bring the cave down!"

"On top of us!?"

"Do it!" Koren's shout could barely be heard over the firespitter behind us.

The gleaming hammer appeared again, and the rocks began to fall. "No going back now!" Lylisia screamed.

I had a handful of Lylisia's cloak clenched tight behind me, afraid I'd lose her to the sliding stones that crashed down around us, blocking every shred of light in the cave, sealing every chance of turning back we never had. We bounced off every dark wall, blindly feeling our way forward, the hammer rattling along behind us, smashing the walls to bits. I prayed silently that Koren hadn't led us wrong, that he didn't lead us into a dead end and trap us under a mountain of broken stones to die who knows what kind of death in utter darkness. My grip was tightening on his arm as the rocks just kept coming in front and falling behind, until at long last we spilled into the cool night, the pitch black giving way to dull gray, the dusty air being chased out by clean, fresh breaths.

We threw ourselves out of the cave, sheltering from the avalanche of debris and dust and savoring deep gulps of open air.

Nobody moved for a long time. I wasn't sure my legs would respond if I tried.

Eventually Koren dragged himself over to Andrin, trying to dab something on his bruised skull.

"Hang on hang on," Andrin said, waving him away. "Just... hang on, let me just... okay? Wow..." He laid back in a spread-eagle and went on, voice faint. "I thought first time I'd get backhanded across the face would be saying something stupid to a girl in a bar... instead it's for literally stabbing a Ska'al through the back." He let out an unbelieving, breathy laugh. "That would happen to me wouldn't it?"

I laid back and laughed, the stupidest giggle I'd ever heard come out of my mouth. Somehow it would happen to Andrin. For some reason when he put it like that it made complete sense, that he'd get a backhand from hell from a dark knight from the same place. It was all I could do really, just let the laughter leak out of my weak lungs.

Lylisia didn't get it, I knew it, but somehow she was laughing too, because none of it was funny, which just made it funnier. And then we were all laughing but Koren, who didn't know how to laugh, and Lylisia told him that, and it just made us laugh harder.

The tears streamed down my face and I could barely wipe them away. It didn't make any sense but I needed it, because it was all too hard to go through without just being a person again.

I didn't really remember stopping, or falling asleep. I was so exhausted the dreams felt real, like some girl at a bar had really knocked Andrin out cold, or like luminous eyes were really peering down the canyon walls at me. But those were all dreams, so I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep surrounded by my slumbering friends.

Somehow, there could be calm in the storm.

* * *

Far above, the creature blinked its luminous eyes and pulled away.

It scurried over the loose stones to a better vantage point, pebbles shifting beneath an uncertain tread.

It was too far from home.

The screeches of laughter had raked its sensitive ears, but now the quiet of the night soothed them. The long, fan-like ears now tucked back against the furry skull—it had almost been seen.

The little creature scampered on all fours down the cliff's edge, peeking over the lip to make sure it could still see them. They weren't moving anymore. These were new creatures, new interlopers, not like the other ones... the others were weak, or stupid, and all alone. Not these.

Large eyes like full moons gazed down on the curious new outsiders. These ones were shiny and bright, and strong. These ones could hurt the clan. They had to be stopped.